


I'm Not an Angel

by Aria_McGee



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-23 08:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11985789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria_McGee/pseuds/Aria_McGee
Summary: Jordyn Abernathy is the only doctor at PPTH that can control House. It helps that she is his daughter. When she comes back from maternity leave, things begin to change. House is no longer okay with their agreement that he is her father not her dad, and her mother isn't either.Maybe she needs them. Maybe all that is going wrong is too much for the 25-year-old to handle on her own.





	1. Occam's Razor Pt1

Dr Jordyn Abernathy was ready to go back to work after seven months of maternity leave. As she walked through the corridors, she was greeted by many of the nurses and doctors she had worked closely with during her many years at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Many of them asked her how her six-month-old daughter was doing, others only welcomed her back, but all had a smile on their face as they spoke. It was no secret that Jordyn was the only doctor in the Hospital that stood up to and had the ability to reason with Dr Gregory House.

Shaking her head in a mix of amusement and annoyance as the members of hospital staff told her of the many things House had done in her absence, Jordyn tried to ignore the ever-present anxiety that was looming over her mind. Being her first day back from maternity leave, Jordyn had anticipated this feeling, but had not imagined it to be anywhere near as prominent as it was. Katie was in the hospital day-care and still Jordyn was worrying about her as if she were in a different continent. Though, the woman did know that it was probably due to the fact that over the last year she hadn’t left the girl alone for longer than a bathroom break or long enough for the paediatrician to do the necessary tests on her eyes.

“Jordyn?” A voice called, questionably, from behind the woman as she neared the stairs. Turning around, Jordyn smiled as her eyes met the face of Dr James Wilson, the one other person who House occasionally listened to.

Pushing her glasses onto the top of her head, Jordyn crossed her arms over her chest as she smirked at him. Waiting for the doctor to get closer, she called her voice thick with a British accent, “In the flesh. Though admittedly there isn’t as much of it as when I left.”

“Ever the joker, maybe that is why House listens to you.” Wilson replied as he got within a casual conversation distance of the woman. “Which is why I stopped you. I need you to present a case to him with me.”

Following Wilson as he walked in the basic direction of the elevator, Jordyn asked, “Thinking that the two of us can get a yes?”

“Normally works, isn’t that how we got him to do the ex-bulimic who was vomiting blood?” Jordyn nodded. Handing the brunette woman the patient file, Wilson added, “I figured if we can get him to take a case that simple then we can get him to take this one no problem.”

Watching as the other doctor flicked through the file, Wilson felt himself holding back a smirk as her eyes widened, “His blood-”

“CBC was typical, abdominal CT scan didn’t show anything.” Wilson added as the brunette’s voice trailed off. “Do you reckon we can get him on it?”

“I reckon his-”

Before Jordyn could finish, there was a call from in front of the duo that caught her attention. Pulling her eyes off the patient file, Jordyn was met with the familiar blue eyes of House, “Sherlock and Watson are back together at last.”

“I’m definitely Sherlock,” whispered Jordyn.

Wilson asked, “What makes you say that?”

“I’m British, duh.”

Walking towards the pair that had now stopped still, House screwed up his face as if he were a child looking at his parents, “Please don’t tell me you have another Bulimia case for me.”

“No, this is a particularly interesting case actually,” Jordyn smirked as she pulled the file out of his reach just as he went to take it.

Looking at the woman smugly, House stated, “Now I remember why I was so pleased when you got knocked up.”

“Aww, I missed you too.”

Ignoring her comment, House turned to Wilson and said, “Now, Watson-”

“Told you.” Jordyn coughed.

“Why do you want me to treat this guy?” House finished not looking away from the taller doctor as he did.

“Blood pressure’s not responding to IV fluids-”

Cutting Wilson off, House turned away from them walking in the direction of the elevator causing the duo to follow him, “No, no I didn’t ask how you plan to con me into treating him, I asked you why you two want me to treat him. Sherlock?”

Raising her shoulders, Jordyn answered, “He’s a young adult, mother’s instinct is kicking in.”

“Watson?”

“He’s sick, I care, I’m pathetic.” Wilson responded counting it off on his fingers.

“There are about a billion sick people on the planet, why this one?” House questioned as he stopped in front of the elevator.

“Because this one’s is in our emergency room.” Both Jordyn and Wilson said at the same time causing House to look at them odd.

“That is why everyone thinks you are screwing each other,” House acknowledged causing the duo to both put on exaggerated grimaces. “But that makes it a proximity issue. If somebody was sick in the third-floor stairwell that’s who we would be talking about.”

“Ah yes, I checked the stairwell on my way up. No sick person.” Jordyn retorted raising her shoulders. “Looks like you are stuck with emergency room guy.”

“Ok then, emergency room guy it is.” House declared stepping into the elevator closely followed by Jordyn who finally handed him the file.

Looking confused, Wilson asked, “Wait, how was that so easy?”

“You know why.” House stated.

“Blood pressure’s not responding to IV fluids?” Wilson queried.

“Yeah, that’s just weird.” House professed as she elevator doors shut.

They spent the elevator ride in silence, Jordyn getting an occasional welcome back as the doors opened at the different floors. Each time, she would smile and say a small thanks before the doors would close again and she let out a large sigh.

Breaking the silence, House asked, “How is Katie doing?”

“Over stepping your boundaries.” Jordyn declared not looking at him. “Asking about my daughters is going into the Dad category. You are not my Dad, you are my father. There is a difference, which you seem to understand when you are accusing me of sleeping with your best friend but not when you are asking me about me daughter.”

“Are you this harsh with you Mother?”

“Unless she tries to be my Mom, no.” Muttered Jordyn as she gritted her teeth stepping out of the elevator and towards the office. Turning around, Jordyn took out a deep breath before saying in a more composed manner, “She’s doing better, the glasses aren’t helping, they may have to do surgery.”

“It’s not life-”

“Over stepping, I answered your question.” Jordyn interrupted. “You asked to be polite, I answered to be polite. Acting like you care isn’t polite.”

Before House could contribute more to the conversation, Jordyn had stepped away and into the Diagnostic Medicine Department. Watching as she embraced the two doctors she had worked with before and shook the hand of the new one, House sighed heavily as he watched the encounter. He may have been frequently described as an arrogant jerk and regularly forgot the names of his patients, but he was related to Katie that made everything different. It meant that if anything happened to her he lost someone and, although Jordyn was convinced otherwise, House truly did care about his granddaughter. Even if her mother was denying any personal relationship.

Shaking off the feeling, House stepped into the office as he watched Jordyn write the symptoms on the board. Having her back may be more complicated for him, but House knew that the team always worked better with her present. She took control and kept him objective.

As he walked through the door, Jordyn said, “CBC was typical, abdominal CT scan didn’t show anything.”

“So, people, differential diagnosis.” House called catching the four fellows attention. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Him.” Jordyn whispered to him, causing him to screw his face up.

“Him, her, does it matter?” House asked Jordyn before looking turning to the others and adding sarcastically, “Does anyone think it is a testicular problem? No, so Chase…”

Scrambling for his words, Chase suggested, “Absidia infection?”

“No, you wouldn’t get the rash or cough.” Jordyn declared.

“What about arthritis?” Foreman asked. “Accompanying vasculitis causes nerve damage-”

“No, it wouldn’t cause the blood pressure problems.” Jordyn interrupted.

“Allergy?” Cameron suggested.

Shaking her head, Jordyn said, “The kid’s got abdominal pain. Maybe carcinoid?”

Foreman looked at her, confused at why no-one had brought her up on her negativity before saying, “Nah, but then you wouldn’t get the-”

Slamming a book down in front of him, House said, “Foreman, if you’re going to list all the things it’s not, it might be quicker to do it alphabetically.” Flicking through the book, he pointed at a page before saying, “Let’s see. Absidia? Excellent. Doesn’t account for any of the symptoms.”

“No condition accounts for all these symptoms.” Cameron stated as she turned from the board to look at House.

“Well, good because I thought maybe he was sick, but apparently he’s not. Who wants to do up the discharge papers?” House questioned sarcastically causing Jordyn to glare at him across the room. “Okay, unless we control the blood pressure, he’s going to start circling the drain before we can figure out what’s wrong with him. Treat him for sepsis, broad-spectrum antibiotics and I want a cort-stim test and an echocardiogram.”

Before any of the others could answer, House had walked out of the office and down the corridor. Making sure that House was out of earshot, Foreman leant over the table looking at Jordyn and asked, “Did you-”

“You get used to it after a while.” Chase interrupted quickly, knowing what the question was.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Jordyn looked at the rest of the team and said, “Foreman, Cameron you two go and find where ever House is and tell him to get his sorry ass back in here and stop avoiding us and the patient. Chase and I will do the cort-sim test and echocardiogram.”

“You get used to that after a while too,” Cameron whispered to a stunned looking Foreman. “You will understand why they are the Dynamic Duo soon enough.”

***

As Jordyn and Chase walked to the patient’s room, nurses, doctors and long-term patients continued to welcome the woman back. Much like she had that morning, Jordyn smiled, thanked them and moved on not wanting a conversation. Even as she explained that they had a patient, Chase knew that there was something more. Standing beside her as she shook the hand of one of the nurses he didn’t quite recognise, Chase realised why it was that she was avoiding a full-length conversation. She wasn’t afraid of them asking about Katie, if that happened she could just spit out medical facts about her condition. She was afraid of them asking how she was, how she was holding up. There were no medical facts for her to blurt out if that happened, she could only admit that she was scared. So, she kept communication to a minimal.

Turning to Jordyn, Chase took in a deep breath before asking, “How’s Katie doing? I didn’t fancy asking in front of Cameron and Foreman, well, mostly Foreman.”

Biting her lip, Jordyn turned to Chase pulling on her necklace as she answered, “Glasses aren’t working. They don’t want to wait too long, but they don’t want to operate if they don’t have to. I just hope that it works, though she does look really adorable in her glasses.” Letting out a shaky breath, Jordyn continued, “They aren’t even sure that it is what they thought anymore. They think it might be a late onset because of how premature she was. The worst part is, I have no clue because I don’t do Paediatrics. Not once they get knee caps. So, if your real question was how are you with everything, I think you got your answer.”

There was a pause before Chase asked, “First time you’ve let all that out?”

Nodding Jordyn nudged his shoulder as she answered, “Yeah, glad it was you. You should always be in the loop with her medical stuff anyway, you are her God-father after all.”

Passing the file to Chase, Jordyn stepped through the door of Brandon Merrell’s room tying her hair back. As she saw the patient, Jordyn plastered a warm smile onto her face looking at the girl holding her the patient’s hands.

Looking up from his and the woman’s hand, Brandon coughed, “Are you Dr House?”

“No, thankfully, I’m Dr Abernathy, this is my colleague Dr Chase.” Stated Jordyn walking far enough into the room that Chase could follow her. “Dr Chase here is going to do an Echocardiogram.”

Looking up quickly, the woman questioned, “What’s that?”

“It is a type of ultrasound test that uses high-pitched sound waves that are sent through a device called a transducer.” Jordyn explained as Chase walked towards the ultra-sound machine. “The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off the different parts of your heart.”

“I have no idea what you just said,” the woman stated.

“All you need to know is that it isn’t going to hurt and is going to show us the size structure and movement of various parts of your heart.” Chase explained as he looked to Jordyn who was shaking her head at her own idiocy. “Dr Abernathy is just getting used to being back with patients.”

“I guess doctors understand the medical jargon,” Brandon joked lightly causing Jordyn to smile at him.

As Chase began to do the Echocardiogram, Jordyn looked at the boy who was sat in the bed. His rash was extremely dangerous and was covering all the part of him that Jordyn could see, meaning that it was definitely a symptom to pay close attention to. The more she thought about the abundance of symptoms, the more Jordyn began to wonder if they were all down to one thing. The cough may have been just that, a cough, but they were treating it as though it were the main symptom of whatever it was Brandon had. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind for a moment, Jordyn pushed the sterile tray with the needle for the Cort-Stim test towards the patients bed.

Looking to Brandon concerned as he coughed, Chase asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He answered before coughing once more. Sharing a sceptical glance with Jordyn, Chase continued with the procedure.

“I’m doing a Cort-Stim test. Basically, I’m giving you a shot of a hormone called, cosyntropin which should trigger your glands to produce cortisol.” Jordyn explained as she pulled on her gloves and prepared his forearm for the injection. “We have already taken some of your blood and then in an hour I will take some more so that we can compare the amounts of cortisol. The test will tell us if your pituitary and adrenal glands are working properly.”

“His glands?” The woman, who had moved from her space beside him so that Jordyn could administer the cosyntropin, asked. “What does that mean?”

Turning to face the woman, who he presumed was the girlfriend, Chase answered, “We have a few theories we’re working on.”

“You mean you don’t know.” The girl snapped.

“Mindy-”

Brandon was interrupted by both the woman, who the doctors now knew was Mindy, and a cough. Looking to Brandon with a look of annoyance, Mindy exclaimed, “I’m just saying if they knew they wouldn’t be testing you, they’d be treating you.”

“Yes, well, that’s the way it works.” Jordyn declared trying not to snap at the girl. Due to lack of sleep and it being her first day back in the hospital, it was safe to say that Jordyn was irritated more than usual. The behaviour of this girl, her scaring Brandon, was something that would have deeply annoyed Jordyn on a regular day, so on that day it was difficult for her to keep her tone under wraps. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself, Jordyn added, “First you find out what it is, then we get you better.”

As Jordyn spoke, Mindy seemed to retreat back to her space beside Brandon. The rest of the examinations were done in silence, Chase occasionally looking over to Jordyn who was taking down notes. It wasn’t unusual for her to write down what she was thinking and then repeat it with the rest of the team, if there was no need to repeat herself she didn’t.

Putting the ultra-sound machine back as it was before, Chase looked to Brandon and Mindy before saying, “That is that all done. We will leave you two until Dr Abernathy has to take the blood samples.”

“Thank you, Doctors.” Brandon coughed, barely managing to get a syllable out between each cough. Sharing yet another sceptical look, Jordyn and Chase walked out of the door.

Once they were out of ear shot of the room, Chase asked, “What did you notice?”

“I’m not quite-”

“Dr Abernathy,” A voice called from behind them. “Can I ask you something quickly.”

“Sure,” Jordyn smiled before handing the note pad to Chase. “Take that up to the office and show House. I’ll be up as soon as I’m done.”

Nodding, Chase walked in the opposite direction of Mindy and towards the stairs. Looking back to the woman, Jordyn raised an eyebrow as she stated, “I’m not sure scaring your boyfriend is the best medicine for him right now.”

“I know, I get… stupid when I’m scared.”

“Fear does stupid things to everyone,” Jordyn declared caused Mindy to visually relax.

“Look, I was wondering… You seem to be quite strong willed… I guess I am slightly more comfortable asking you this-”

“The question.”

Without second thoughts, Mindy stated, “Before this happened, we were having sex.”

“Well, it is unlikely that you would have gotten it. We have run an entire STD-”

Interrupting Jordyn Mindy said, “No, I was wondering if maybe I did this to him. I was kind of rough.”

“Look, I know that rough sex can get quite dangerous, but the chances of that doing this to him are slim. Yes, maybe, it triggered something that could have set off an episode, but that could actually be what saved him.” Mindy let out a large breath as Jordyn placed her hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t do this to him, okay? Now, do you have any other questions.” Mindy shook her head. “Okay, I am going to go and join the team so we can work out what is doing this to Brandon.”

***

After taking Brandon’s blood an hour after the Cort-Stim test, the Diagnostic Medicine team, minus House, were in the lab. Everyone was working together, but apart at the same time: Cameron was sat at the computer as she waited for the breakdown of Brandon’s bloodwork to come in; Foreman was looking at some of the previous tests that had been done; Jordyn was preparing a slide for the microscope; and Chase was sitting on the counter and looking at a piece of paper for no obvious reason. Each doctor had been used to it only being 3 of them for almost as long as they had been doctors, so the extra pair of hands were both useful and annoying.

As Jordyn placed the slide under the SEM, Cameron turned from the computer to the rest of the group.

“It is really good to have our haematologist back,” Cameron smirked as she watched Jordyn pull up a chair to the microscope. Smiling to the woman, Jordyn pushed her glasses up onto her head before leaning down to look at the slide.

Looking confused, Foreman asked, “Aren’t glasses used to help people see?”

“She has odd eyes,” Chase smirked causing Jordyn to quickly flip him off, not once looking up from the slide.

“There is nothing visibly wrong with his blood,” stated Jordyn as she pushed back from the table turning around to face the other doctors. “We just have to wait to get the results back on the Cort-Stim.”

“It’s got to be viral.” Foreman declared as he looked at the other three doctors. “We should start running gels and titers.”

“That wouldn’t match the girlfriend’s theory,” the doctors in the room looked at Jordyn confused. “She thinks that she caused it by being too rough.”

“What did you tell her?” Foreman laughed.

Joining Foreman by laughing, Chase asked, “I hope you told her 22-year old men don’t die of sex.”

“No, I told her that she didn’t cause it, she probably only triggered it. Which may have saved his life.” Jordyn smirked looking at the two boys. “Sex can both save lives and take them.”

Coughing, Chase asked, “You ever take a life?”

“Oh Robert,” Jordyn spoke placing her hand on his shoulder as he reached past him for the printer. Moving her lips to his ear, Jordyn stated, “I don’t kiss and tell, you should know that.”

While Jordyn passed the printed sheet to Foreman, Chase said, “If anyone else did that, it would have been sexual harassment.”

“The accent stops people from reporting me.” Jordyn joked, stopping as she saw Foreman’s face. “What does it say?”

“We should stop the antibiotics.”

Looking confused, Cameron said, “It’s too soon to say they’re not having an effect.”

“They’re having an effect. His BP’s falling fast.” Foreman explained passing the sheet to Jordyn who read through it quickly looking shocked before she passed it to Cameron who read it and passed it to Chase. “There’s fluid filling his lungs. His creatinine’s rising. His kidneys are shutting down. Our treatment isn’t making him better, it’s killing him.”

“You three go to the office, I’m going to go and get House.” Jordyn declared and the others nodded as they watched her leave the room.

“What the hell did she say to you?”

Putting a smug smile onto his face, Chase picked up Jordyn’s notebook and pen which she had left behind in her rush to find House and walked out of the lab. He knew that she didn’t kiss and tell, he knew that better than anyone.


	2. Occam's Razor Pt.2

For a second, the nurses were confused when Jordyn walked into the Clinic, her arms crossed and face filled with a mix of annoyance and urgency. However, as they remembered who the British Doctor stood in front of them was, they each nodded towards Exam Room 1. Smiling in thanks, Jordyn crossed the Clinic waiting room, ignoring the questions from patients that thought she was another doctor to examine them.

Barging through the door, Jordyn rolled her eyes as she saw House in the room with no patient. However, as soon as he eyes landed on the devise he was looking at, the woman cleared her throat and moved her hand to her hip.

Pushing her glasses to the top of her head, Jordyn said, “TV rots your brain you know.”

“Has anyone ever told you, you sound like a mother?” House declared in an immature manner.

“That is a hell of a surprise, maybe I should go and see a shrink.”

“While you are there, you should talk about your underlying daddy issues.” House added causing Jordyn to flip him off before picking up the device and holding it behind her back. “Come on, the commercials are in 10 minutes.”

“Too bad, Brandon’s in kidney failure! He may not have enough time for you to do a 15:5 TV to work split.” Jordyn declared as she walked out of the room, quickly followed by House who was trying to get his device back. “Now, we need to go and do a Differential Diagnosis before he dies.”

Beside the duo, one of the patients gasped causing Jordyn to smile sweetly at her before speed walking towards the elevator. The woman had caught everyone’s attention and each of the nurses were parting ways for her as they saw the look on her face. House, however, had not followed her. Stopping by the elevator and calling it, Jordyn pulled the pen from her hair as she turned to look at House.

As he turned to the woman who had gasped, House spoke rather loudly, “She is from the Psych Ward. Stole a lab coat and decided to play doctor.”

“HOUSE!” Jordyn yelled causing the man to limp her way and step into the elevator.

***

“So, we had six symptoms that didn’t add up to anything, now we have seven.” House huffed as he watched Cameron write kidney failure on the board. Jordyn had taken her seat next to Chase who passed her the notepad and pen he had picked up from the lab. She gave him a small smile in thanks before turning to look at the white board. “Who’s excited?”

“I don’t think it complicates things.” Foreman professed as he looked at House. Jordyn screwed up her face in overexaggerated confusion that caused Cameron to stifle a laugh. “The kidney failure was caused by the antibiotics.”

“Maybe.” Jordyn hummed. “I was wondering if the cough was even a symptom. We all get a cold, Katie has had 5 and she is only 6 months old. There is a chance that it isn’t to do with what he has that is life threatening.”

“But he doesn’t have a stuffy nose.” Foreman acknowledged as he looked at Jordyn. “Typically, low blood pressure and abdominal pain means an infection. An abdominal infection causes sepsis, low blood pressure-”

Shaking his head, Chase interrupted, “Except we checked for abdominal infections. And you don’t always get a stuffy nose when you get a cold. If you did, tissue companies would be running the economy.”

“I know, but what if it’s the other way around.” Foreman suggested ignoring the second part of Chase’s comment. “What if the low blood pressure is causing the abdominal pain?”

“Viral heart infection.” Cameron proposed. “The intestines aren’t getting enough blood, and the result is belly pain.”

“I know it’s not the standard presentation-”

“It’s a 10 million to one shot.” Jordyn cried as she looked at the doctor.

“I thought that’s what we dealt with, here.” Foreman said sarcastically to Jordyn, causing her eyes to narrow which he ignored. “It explains the cardiomyopathy, pain, the low BP, the fever.”

“You read the book!” House clapped as he looked at Foreman.

“It’s a ludicrously long shot that explains every one of those symptoms, except for the cough and the rash.” Jordyn stated looking smugly. “I thought that we were including the cough? Or is it gone because it doesn’t fit your theory?”

“She’s right, should we just erase those two?” House questioned.

“Well, anything can cause a rash.” Foreman pointed out, once again ignoring Jordyn’s comment.

“Okay.” House spoke picking up the coloured markers and stated different conditions that each doctor had suggested, changing colour with each. Once he had finished there was an array of colourful lines on the board and not one un-ringed symptom.

Leaning to look at the board, Foreman said, “If you’re going to list all of the things it can’t be, you’re gonna need more colours.”

“Cameron was right, no condition explains all these symptoms.” House declared as he looked at the board. “But orange and green covers everything.”

“Orange and green?” Chase questioned, emphasising the and. “Two conditions, contracted simultaneously?”

Foreman looked to House sceptically as he said, “Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation is always the best.”

“And you think one is simpler than two.” House declared.

“Pretty sure it is, yeah.” Cameron stated.

“Jordyn tells us that she is pregnant, Chase asked how.” As House spoke, Jordyn and Chase groaned placing their head in their hands. “Cameron tells you that two people exchanged fluids to create this being. I tell you that one stork dropped the little tyke off in a diaper. You going to go with the two or the one?”

“I think your argument is specious.” Foreman professed.

“I think your tie is ugly.” House countered before looking to Jordyn and asking, “Why is one simpler than two? It’s lower, lonelier… is it simpler?”

“Each one of these conditions is about a thousand to one shot. That means that any two of them happening at the same time is a million to one shot.” Jordyn explained and Foreman was about to interrupt but Jordyn raised her hand. “Your cardiac infection is a 10 million to one shot, which makes my idea 10 times better than yours. Get a calculator, run the numbers.”

“We’ll run the tests.” Chase spoke pushing himself up.

“Tests take time. Treatment’s quicker.” House declared. “Start the kid on Unasyn for the sinus infection and… what was orange?”

“Hypothyroidism.” Jordyn stated as she stood up and walked out the door, not waiting for anyone to say what the treatment was. She knew what it was, it wasn’t that complicated.

Each of the doctors still in the room looked at each other confused before House said, “Foreman, I think you upset her.”

“By pointing out how unlikely her theory was?” Foreman questioned rhetorically.

“It was more likely than yours.” Chase pointed out. “And, her’s is closer to the one we are using.”

Rolling her eyes, Cameron said, “And now you see where the Dynamic Duo comes from.”

“You mean it wasn’t just because they both have accents?” House quizzed sarcastically. “Damn, I have been making assumptions all along. Now, go and save the patient.”

***

Walking into Brandon’s room with Cameron, Jordyn let a small smile fill her face as she saw the duo sat in almost the exact same position they were that morning. When the girlfriend saw Jordyn, she looked up hopeful.

“Have you found what’s wrong?”

“We think Brandon has Hypothyroidism and a Sinus Infection.” Declared Jordyn as she stood before Mindy who had now stood up.

Looking at Jordyn, Brandon said, “My uncle has hypothyroidism.”

“Not like this.” Cameron smiled as she looked at the duo.

“Dr Cameron there is administering Intravenous levothyroxine, that is an artificial thyroid medication that should take care of the Hypothyroidism.” Jordyn explained. “Also, the nurses are going to start you on Unasyn, it’s a more targeted antibiotic-”

Interrupting Jordyn, Mindy asked, “For the sinus infection?”

“Yes.”

“And the other stuff is for… something else entirely?”

“Bad luck, huh?” Cameron smiled as she looked at Brandon.

In Jordyn’s pocket, her pager went off. Looking at Cameron confused when hers didn’t sound as well, Jordyn pulled it from her pocket. Her heart stopped when she read the words across it. Turning to Brandon and Mindy, Jordyn asked, “Are you good if I leave Dr Cameron to administer the treatment?”

As they both nodded, Jordyn thanked them before discreetly signing a K to Cameron who looked just as worried as she was. Keeping herself composed as she walked out the door, Jordyn struggled to keep herself upright as there was a pit in the bottom of her stomach.

“Did you tell them House's theory?” Questioned Chase, his voice dripping with humour until he saw the look on her face. His brow furrowing in concern, Chase watched Jordyn pull out her phone and dial a number she knew off by heart. She only knew one number off by heart.

“What's wrong?” Jordyn asked as she ran through the hospital halls closely followed by Chase who stopped to tell Foreman to stay with Cameron. The duo didn't wait for the elevator. Running down the stairs, Jordyn continued to talk on the phone shocking Chase as she did. Not only was she running down the stairs in heels, but she was talking on the phone. Suddenly there was no surprise that she had lost the baby weight in 6 months.

“Jordyn, we aren't all pro runners like you!” Chase called as they exited the stair well, him stopping for a breather as she continued to run ahead. Struggling for his breath, Chase watched as Jordyn was stopped by a dark-haired man. Placing his hands on her shoulders, the man's mouth moved and Jordyn's hand flew to her chest.

Walking over, Chase appeared just as the dark-haired man walked away leaving Jordyn stood with a look of relief on her face and tears streaking her cheeks. Shaking her head as she anticipated Chase's question, Jordyn burst out into tears that seemed to be a mix of fear, pent up anger and relief. Opening up his arms, Chase held the woman tightly as he years soaked through his lab coat.

“What was wrong?” Chase asked as he looked through the window before them to see Katie sat on the floor playing with the toys that had been placed before her.

Taking in a shaky breath but not moving from where she was leant, Jordyn said, “She couldn't breathe, they thought that she was choking on something but there wasn't anything in her airways. They had to put her back on oxygen. They are almost completely convinced that it is Bronchopulmonary dysplasia now, she may never be off the oxygen.”

“I didn't know she was off.”

Pulling back from Chase, Jordyn nodded, “I didn't want to jink it by telling anyone. Today was the first full day they were doing it. She has done the gradual and been fine. I guess she isn't as healthy as I thought.”

Pushing her hair out of her face, Chase let out a large sigh before saying, “I can cover for you up-”

“No!” Jordyn interrupted quickly as she pulled her hair back and twisted the pen in it. “I need to be doing something. From the looks of it I have another night in this ward so if I don't leave now I will go insane.”

“Okay, but at least get yourself a drink and something to eat before you collapse into a heap on the floor.”

Biting her lip, Jordyn gave in, “Fine. But I am only getting stuff in the office so I can worry with my phone on loud speaker.”

Walking side by side to the office, Chase’s pager went off in his pocket. Checking it, he let out a large groan before saying, “I’m sorry, but we have to go to the lab. Without House knowing.”

“We don’t agree with the two conditions?”

“Not at all.”

***

Walking into the lab side by side, Jordyn and Chase caught Foreman's attention quickly. He wasn't quite sure whether it was the way Chase's hand lingered on her back for a little too long or the way that she looked up at him a small forced smile on her face, but something had caught his attention. Of course, he knew they were close, this had been more than evident when Chase had gone running after the woman earlier that day, but he sensed that there was something more.

Watching as the women pinned back her hair with her pen, a trait that Foreman found rather peculiar anyway, he tried to work out what it was about the duo that confused him. There was always the possibility that it was purely the fact that they both had accents and House had planted the idea in his head earlier. However, Foreman highly doubted that considering the fact that House had also planted the idea that she and Wilson were together yet when he had seen them that morning on the way to the office there had been no part of him that had even considered it. It was something in the way they acted around each other.

Shaking off the thought and pulling his eyes away from Jordyn, Foreman watched as Chase placed a drop of Brandon's blood into a machine to the side of him. He had only been back a moment and Foreman already knew that something was up, he was too quiet. The Australian doctor always had something to say, whether relevant or not. His silence was just another thing that confused Foreman.

Checking the test, Foreman let out a large sigh of announce as he announced, “Negative for Coxsackie-B virus.”

“Five down, about 5000 to go.” Chase groaned as he looked over to Jordyn once more. Foreman supposed that he knew exactly how many they had done from Cameron, who in Foreman's opinion also talked too much about irrelevant things, so didn't question that. “You really think we’re going to come up with your mystery virus by running gels until we guess it right?”

“No, I think we’re going to get it by standing around watching other people work.” Foreman stated letting Chase know that he could see him watching Jordyn work.

“I’m waiting for the Epstein Barr virus.” Chase declared, existing himself from looking over to Jordyn. “She's so unlucky.”

Rolling his eyes, Foreman said, “Bad idea.”

“What?”

“Bad idea.” Foreman repeated even though he knew that Chase had heard him perfectly fine. “You work with her.”

“What did I say? Is _unlucky_ some new ghetto euphemism for sexy?” Chase asked looking annoyed at the man. “I said she is unlucky because she is. She hasn't slept more than 2 hours at a time since Katie was born.”

“ _Ghetto euphemism_?” Foreman chuckled questionably. Chase joined him after a second of glaring at him unnervingly. “So, you don’t think she’s hot?”

“No!”

“Wow, then you’re brilliant.” Foreman declared causing Chase to once again glare at him. “And I am using _brilliant_ as a euphemism.”

“Obviously, the girl is hot.” Chase stated rolling his eyes. “But you, you’re not talking about her aesthetics, you’re talking about if I want to jump her.” There was a pause in which Foreman though Chase was weighing up his possibilities.  However, after a second, he quickly added, “I don’t. She is purely a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Now if you don't mind, the Epstein Barr is ready.”

After checking the test and announcing it was negative, Chase moved into a second test. As Foreman watched, Chase's eyes continued to dart across the lab to where Jordyn was working. However, from the look in his eyes when he had mentioned her lack of sleep, Foreman assumed it was concern rather than anything else.

Meanwhile, in the other section of the lab, Cameron was tiptoeing around Jordyn as if she were a cracked glass and just the impact of her whole foot on the floor would cause her to smash. She wasn’t far wrong. Had she have said the wrong thing Jordyn would have fractured to millions of sharp shards heading straight for her. So, Cameron said nothing.

Having spent over half an hour in silence, Jordyn pulled her eyes from the computer. Looking over at the doctors, she announced, her voice void of any sort of emotion, “Negative on parvovirus B19.”

Watching as Chase looked over quickly catching Jordyn’s eye and earning a small strained smile before he looked away, Cameron’s brow furrowed in confusion. After a few moments and negative tests of watching the Australian’s behaviour, Cameron turned to Jordyn declaring, “You realised that Chase hasn’t spent more than 5 minutes without looking over here.”

“Your point is?” Jordyn questioned not looking up from the computer as she spoke.

“What did you say to him this morning?” Cameron asked looking at Jordyn who didn’t pull her eyes from the computer. “Normally I wouldn’t ask, but considering what the topic was-”

“Cameron, I’m not in the mood! I told Chase something that only he understood would have understood.” Snapped Jordyn finally moving her eyes from the computer. Raising her eyebrows at Jordyn, Cameron allowed a smirk to filter onto her face. “What so I can’t even mention sex, even as part of the case, without it being some sort of power play?”

“Yes,” an unknown voice calls from the door, catching each of the doctors’ attention. “If you look the way you do, and you say whatever it was you said, which I’m sure could have warranted a sexual harassment lawsuit, you have to be aware of the effect that it’ll have on men.”

“Can we stop talking about this? I didn’t say anything to Chase that would make it awkward, it was simply an inside joke.”

“Yeah, and dogs don’t lick themselves.”

As Jordyn rolled her eyes and looked back to the computer, Chase walked into the area with Foreman looking overly confused. House hadn’t known they were in the lab. If he had, he would have come sooner to stop them. They were trying to disprove his theory, something that House would have hated. Him being there made no sense.

Looking at House, Chase asked, “What’s going on?”

“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Jordyn asked ripping her eyes from the computer and back to the man who stood before them.

“Looking for you guys.” House declared.

“Why didn’t you page us?” Foreman questioned confused.

Turning to Foreman, House answered in a matter of fact tone, “Because I knew you’d be here.”

Looking around the room, shocked, Chase asked, “Who told him?”

“No one. I assume you’re trying to prove my crazy two-illness theory wrong, so, obviously, you’re going to be in the lab.” Pulling the all too familiar yellow pot from his pocket, House asked, “You spin the urine?”

“Not yet.” Foreman answered confused.

“Talk to me when you have.” House declared before he walked out of the door.

Looking around the lab, Jordyn shrugged her shoulder at the confused doctors. Deciding that doing her job is better than sitting and doing nothing, Jordyn announced, “I’ll spin the urine.”

“Are you sure-”

“I’m fine!”


End file.
